Most parents greet the discovery that their child is not merely gifted but highly or profoundly gifted with a combination of pride, excitement, and fear. They may set out to find experts or books to help them cope with raising such a child, only to find that there are no real experts, only a couple of books, and very little understanding of extreme intellectual potential and how to develop it. This digest deals with some areas of concern and provides a few practical suggestions based on the experience of other parents and the modest amount of research available.

DIFFERENCESA UNITED FRONTWHAT HIGHLY GIFTED CHILDREN NEEDTHE EARLY YEARSPUBLIC ATTITUDESMULTIPLE AGESSCHOOLLACK OF FITACCELERATIONWHEN THE SCHOOL WILL NOT CHANGESOCIAL/EMOTIONAL NEEDS

CONCLUSIONRaising a highly gifted child may be ecstasy, agony, and everything between. Adults must perform almost impossible feats of balance--supporting a child's gifts without pushing, valuing without overinvesting, championing without taking over. It is costly, physically and emotionally draining, and intellectually demanding. In the first flush of pride, few parents realize that their task is in many ways similar to the task faced by parents of a child with severe handicaps. Our world does not accommodate differences easily, and it matters little whether the difference is perceived to be a deficit or an overabundance. We have covered only a few issues in this space, but the most important help you can give highly gifted children can be expressed in a single sentence: Give them a safe home, a refuge where they feel love and genuine acceptance, even of their differences. As adults with a safe home in their background, they can put together lives of productivity and fulfillment.